ARAKA BRAMWEL MBOGO

EN251-0221/2010

EXP 1: PRECISION MEASUREMENT

Objectives:
To study some of the instruments and methods used in precision measurements.
To determine the precision of various measurement instruments.
To compute the volume and density of various items.

Introduction:
Measurement is the process of determining the magnitude of a quantity, e.g length and mass, relative to
a unit of measurement, e.g meter and kilogram.
There are certain standard units of measurement allocated various quantities called SI Units.

Length:
This is the measure of the of the distance between two separate and distinct points or
The longest dimension of an object.
The SI Unit of length is the meter (m)
Other sub-units are centimeter, millimeter, micrometer e.t.c.
Mass:
This is the measure of the quantity of matter that a body contains, irrespective of its bulk or volume.
The SI Unit of mass is kilogram (Kg)
Other sub-units include gram, milligram e.t.c
Electric current:
This is the measure of the flow of electricity through a conductor.
The SI Unit of electric current is ampere (A)
Other sub-units include milliampere and microampere.

Precision measurement refers to the evaluation of the consistency of measurements taken from one
object more than once or using more than one instrument.
Precision and accuracy are often mistaken to be similar, but they actually are not.
The accuracy of a measurement is the degree of closeness of the measurement to the actual or true
value; while
The precision of a measurement is the degree to which repeated measurements under unchanged
conditions show the same results.
It is also sometimes defined as the number of significant digits to which a value has been reliably
measured.
A measurement system/instrument can be precise but not accurate, accurate but not precise, both or
neither of the two.
A precise and accurate system/instrument is said to be valid.
Apparatus/ Equipment:
Meter rule Copper cylinder
Vernier calipers Steel ball
Micrometer screw gauge Glass capillary tube
Electronic balance
Traveling microscope

Diagrams:

Measurement of electric current

Procedure:
The zero errors of the various measuring instruments provided were determined.
They were then recorded.
The reading errors of the instruments were also determined and recorded.
The measurements (length, diameter and mass) of the objects provided were then taken appropriately
using the measuring instruments provided where possible.
The results were recorded.
In the second part,
The amount of electric current in provided circuits was to be measured.
First, the zero errors and reading errors of the measuring instruments (ammeter, milliammeter and
microammeter) were determined and recorded.
The measurements were then taken and recorded.
Results:
ITEMS INSTRUMENTS AND MEASUREMENTS
Meter Rule Vernier Calipers Micrometer Screw Electronic Balance
(×10-2m) (×10-2m) Gauge (×10-3m) (×10-3kg)
Zero error +0.2 0.00 +0.009 0.00
Reading Error 0.05 0.01 0.001 0.01
Copper Cylinder Height 5.7 5.50 15.92
Copper Cylinder 1.4 1.20 12.38
Diameter
Steel Ball Diameter 0.8 0.64 6.35 1.12
Copper Wire Length 4.85 4.66 1.52
Copper Wire Diameter 0.4 0.22 2.27
Capillary Tube Length 5.05 4.87 3.62

Internal diameter of capillary tube using traveling microscope = 1.55×10 -3m

Volume( m3) Density(kg/ m3)

Copper Cylinder 6.22 × 10-6 2559.34
Steel Ball 1.37 × 10-7 8175.18
Capillary Tube(Internal) 9.19 × 10-8

Error in Volume( m3) Density(kg/ m3)

Copper Cylinder 1.09 × 10-6 457.5
Steel Ball 6.5 × 10-9 283.5
Capillary Tube(Internal) 2.0 × 10-10

Instrument Measurement Error Unit

Ammeter 1.025 0 A
Milliammeter 10 0 mA
Microammeter 20 8 µA
Discussions/ Questions:
1. Why is it appropriate to use the meter rule for measuring the length of the copper wire but the
micrometer screw gauge for the diameter?

2. What is the difference between accuracy and precision?

Errors:

Error analysis:

Conclusion:
References:
1. The world of Physics by John Avison
2. University Physics 6th Edition by Francis W. Sears, Mark W. Zemansky and Hugh D. Young
3. Physics part 1 by Robert Rensnick and David Halliday
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accuracy_and_precision